Minimal processing, maximum flavour

Backyard Café is the latest sensation among health-food junkies and fitness enthusiasts. You’ve heard about it if you pump iron, shop organic, or attend community yoga.

Today I enter this latest addition to Phnom Penh’s growing health-orientated restaurant circle.  And this is what I know before I even step into the café: the all-original, creative menu has been crafted by nutrionist and raw food chef Emma Fountain and contains many vegan and gluten-free options. Backyard Café is all about whole foods: ingredients that have been processed as little as possible. Spices and sweeteners are used sparingly, and frying is avoided like the plague. Their scrumptious-looking cakes are homemade, and many of their dishes are season-based. All this is done with one purpose in mind: to allow the customer to experience flavours in all their natural, unadulterated glory.

But today I don’t come here in self-indulgent fashion. I am a man on a mission; a man who seeks an answer to a pressing question. We know the food at Backyard Café is healthy and presumably energising. But is it tasty?

With no sign on the façade of the bright, white building to disclose its identity, Backyard Café can be a bit tricky to locate. Like the food it serves, the décor of the café is simple and clean-cut.  The luminous white walls have very little by way of decoration. A few cacti rest on the elegant tables of reclaimed wood, looking over white modernist chairs. The atmosphere – stylish, yet relaxed – is ideal for a business meeting or a get-together with friends.

As soon as I sit down, I am handed two menus: one for breakfast and one for lunch. In both, the list of green smoothies and cold pressed juices is as long as it is creative. As I skim over the lunch menu, I notice some traditional dishes that, at the hands of Fountain, have been given a healthy twist. The lasagna uses sheets of veggies instead of pasta to separate layers. The zucchini fritters turn its back on flour, using ground chia seeds for binding.

I begin my lunch with a Matcha Green Iced Latte ($4). The pale green drink comes in a glass jar, with a wooden straw sticking out. It is made with cashew milk, vanilla bean, Himalayan salt and coconut sprinkles. The thing is healthy, alright, but if you were expecting the taste and sweetness of your conventional matcha iced latte, you’ll be disappointed: the concoction is a little bland.

The Abundance Bowl ($6), on the other hand, is a colourful mixture of contrasting flavours and textures that will exceed your expectations. The sweetness of the pumpkin complements the pickled ginger and the sauerkraut by accentuating their bitterness. The sweet and creamy cashew nut cheese plays perfectly well with the savoury red pepper hummus – using the tempeh to scoop them out is a temptation I can’t resist. This dish is, no doubt, the creation of a gifted culinary mind.

Backyard Café even offers services that transcend the boundaries of your everyday eatery. Customers can detox and pump up their energy levels by undertaking raw food and juice cleanses facilitated by the café: for $5 per person you also get lunchboxes of natural goodness delivered to your office.
So, in answer the ultimate question, yes, the food at Backyard Café is not just healthy, but tasty to boot. With the exception of a few items (the matcha latte immediately comes to mind), Fountain has done a superb job of creating super healthy dishes with great zest. The healthy-and-flavourful package has helped this little venue develop a solid reputation in just a matter of months. In combination with affordable prices and good service.

Backyard Café.
#11b, St. 246. 078 751 715